204 NORTHERN ISLAND. [PART II. 



settle in Kaitaia. This happened about ten years 

 ago ; and as at the same time several of their pas 

 at the North Cape were taken, nobody has since 

 lived in the district, and Kapo-wairua was sold by 

 Pane Kareao to an European. In the direction of 

 one of the principal inlets in the estuary of Pa- 

 renga-renga, the few narrow and fertile spots near 

 the northern shore soon give way to that kind of 

 narrow ridges and ravines which I have mentioned 

 above. Having formerly been kauri-land, they 

 are now very barren. The soil contains layers of 

 soapstone, or steatite, a material which is very use- 

 ful in the manufacture of china, and a good deal of 

 stiff ferruginous clay. The arms of Parenga-renga 

 inlet extend between the ramifications of these hills, 

 and generally terminate in swamps, grown over 

 with what is called the New* Zealand mangrove 

 (Avicennia tomentosa), named manawa by the 

 natives. The available land is of very limited ex- 

 tent. 



As regards the northern coast, I have only fur- 

 ther to observe that up to the North Cape it is 

 very rocky, alternating with small sandy bays. Off 

 the North Cape lies a small rocky island, Muri 

 Motu (Last Island), separated from the mainland 

 at high w r ater only. The promontory itself is high 

 and bold, presenting very steep sides to both the 

 northern and eastern coast ; but a flat and swampy 

 land of about three square miles in extent runs 

 from the northern to the eastern coast, and sepa- 



